Coca-Cola bottler Reginald Lee and KHS have been working together successfully in Argentina for ten years. One of the most recent investments is a hotfill line with a capacity of up to 26,400 bottles per hour.
The bright yellow lorries from the 1940s, with which the Coca-Cola brand began its triumphal march in Argentina over 75 years ago, bear witness to a long tradition. They are carefully maintained in the warehouse of Reginald Lee, one of the few independent Partner of the Coca-Cola system in South America.
Having concentrated on the south of Buenos Aires at the start, the company now serves an area of around 100,000 square kilometres. over 4.6 million people by supplying 27,000 customers, mostly supermarkets and retailers. This means that Reginald Lee now has a market presence in the third-largest metropolitan region in Latin America after Mexico City and São Paulo. Market share of around 50 per cent.
For the Dortmund systems supplier KHS Reginald Lee is a special customer.
„We've had a close relationship with the company for over ten years,“ says Jorge Oleskow, area sales manager for KHS Argentina. „After we sold and commissioned the first stretch blow molder, Reginald Lee successively converted all of its PET lines to KHS technology - this situation doesn't exist anywhere else in Latin America. In this respect, of course, it's a great reference for us.“
Currently has Reginald Lee over four complete KHS lines, on which carbonated drinks and hot-fill products are processed in non-returnable PET bottles. One of the latest investments is the Hotfill line with a capacity of up to 26,400 bottles per hour. A new hall was built on the company premises specifically for the plant with an adjoining syrup room. Including all construction and infrastructure measures, the Investment totalling 16.5 million US dollars.
„The high degree of automation of the system, the simple control system and the perfect coordination between the machines and conveyors were the main factors in favour of KHS,“ explains Production Manager Orlando Diz. „Given the enormous variety of products we produce, the flexibility of the system was a priority for us. However, minimising energy consumption was just as important to us.“
Sustainable process optimisation
An important aspect of Reginald Lee's entrepreneurial vision is the the topic of sustainability, as Diz emphasises. The bottler consistently pursues its goal of constantly optimising its processes in order to Efficiency, productivity and environmental friendliness to maximise the benefits. Particular attention is paid to the Water and energy consumption, two areas in which significant savings can be achieved thanks to innovative technology.
Although it is not easy to make predictions in view of the current tense economic situation in Argentina and the extremely volatile market, Diz says that his next projects include the Weight and material savings for hotfill PET bottles - a challenge that he would soon like to master in a team with KHS.
Source: KHS
